What Do You Know About Love?
by weepingangel9578
Summary: A lazy night around the campfire brings forth some interesting discoveries about Legolas and his life back home.
1. Chapter 1

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Eight members of the newly formed fellowship sat casually around a blazing campfire. There was a dwarf with heavy armor and uncontrollable red hair, a wizard with a large brimmed hat and cloak of dreary gray, two men, one dressed in brown, maroon, and silver armor and clothing, and one in the dark leather outerwear of the Northern rangers. Then there was a small grouping of hobbits. Each wore knee length trousers of earthy greens and browns, white blouses, embroidered vests, and waistcoats of velvet and cotton.

All of them were listening intently to the Gondorian man as he spun a tale. He spoke with enthusiasm about a woman he had come to love back home.

"Aye my friends, she is truly the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. I will be quite content when I can return to her."

Boromir leaned back on his palms and sighed. He tilted his head skyward and chuckled.

"I met her when I was a young lad of merely twenty years old. I had just become a captain for my father's guard. I was out celebrating and I found her working as a barmaid. I immediately became entranced by her beauty. I watched her for the entire night from the far side of the bar, too afraid to approach her. Finally, after everyone had left, I gathered my courage and approached her. By this point I was highly intoxicated and I began babbling in her face quite unattractively. After a while I lost most of the control over my body and I found myself leaning in to kiss her. Now that didn't quite go over as well as my alcohol clouded mind thought it would, and I ended up receiving a painful slap across the face."

Everyone within the fellowship laughed and the man blushed at the sudden attention. However, he chuckled with them and continued his tale.

"Yes, not my smartest decision…anyways, I met her again several days later, when I was sober, and obviously she wanted nothing to do with me. However, I was persistent and I continued to pursue her. It wasn't until several days later that she finally allowed me to apologize and speak my mind. After much groveling, she finally decided to give me a second chance. And now after six years, I have grown very close to her, and she has to me. I am even thinking of asking for her hand when I return."

Boromir smiled and turned back to face the fellowship. All of them returned his pleasant expression, albeit some with more enthusiasm than others. Aragorn, who was placed at Boromir's right, reached out a hand and clapped the man on the shoulder.

"I believe that is a wonderful idea."

The Gondorian man nodded towards the ranger in thanks. Aragorn pulled back his hand and turned when Sam began speaking.

"Yeah, she sounds really nice Boromir; however, I do have to disagree with you on one thing."

Boromir raised an eyebrow at the hobbit and smiled good naturedly.

"Oh? And what might that be my friend?"

The hobbit blushed and looked down towards the ground.

"Well…she can't be the most beautiful woman because…because I have already laid eyes on the most beautiful woman and she resides in the Shire."

Sam sighed and rubbed at the back of his head. He looked to his fellow hobbits for reassurance that he should continue. Frodo rolled his eyes and urged him forward with a light hand gesture. Pippin and Merry simply shrugged and smiled. Sam sighed shakily and looked up at the other members of the fellowship.

"Her name's Rosie and she is the most wonderful girl I have ever met. Her hair is soft and curly and it shines like the spring sun. Her eyes are the deepest blue and they look just like the sparkling ponds that surround the Shire. Her cheeks are red like the flowers that grow across the rolling hills of home. She is also exceedingly kind. She is…perfect. If I am going to marry anyone in my life, it is going to be her."

Sam looked up nervously and blushed when the other members of the group chuckled. Frodo nudged him lightly.

"It's alright Sam. Besides, we all know how you feel about Rosie."

Sam laughed nervously and his blush deepened. He looked around the campfire and saw that all of the others were nodding as well. His gaze soon targeted the ranger when Aragorn involuntarily reached up to grasp the shinning pedant around his neck.

"That's from the lady Arwen isn't it?"

The ranger looked at the hobbit with surprise that soon melted into contentment. The ranger nodded and slipped the pendant off his neck carefully. Once the object was free he held it in his hand and showed it to the fellowship.

"Aye it is a symbol of trust and love-"

"I knew it!"

The ranger was harshly interrupted by the rather loud shout of Merry, who immediately looked embarrassed by his outburst. He blushed and began stuttering slightly.

"O-Oh sorry! I…it's…well you see, Pippin and I saw the two of you in Rivendell and well, I just assumed you two were well, you know…together…"

Aragorn chuckled and brushed of the hobbit with his hand.

"No it is alright my friend; we are not exactly non public with our relations. You are correct however; Arwen and I are indeed, as you said, together. We have been for a while…"

Aragorn continued on to tell the rest of the fellowship about his love for Arwen and how at some points they were unfortunate enough to be considered star crossed lovers of sorts. The fellowship listened closely as the ranger finished.

"Well that is all very sweet laddies, but I would have to say that dwarfish women are definitely among the most beautiful."

The fellowship laughed as the dwarf crossed his arms over his chest in superiority. He frowned slightly when he noticed that the fellowship was not laughing with him but at him. He growled in defiance and stood quickly from his perch.

"It is true! The women of the lonely mountain are truly gorgeous! Almost all that meet them soon find one to love!"

"Are you sure? I have never seen a dwarfish woman…or maybe that's because they look so much like the men?"

All of the fellowship turned around quickly to see the owner of the new voice. They chuckled when they saw Legolas sauntering up to the fire from the tall trees that surrounded the area. His bow was in one hand and a small grouping of squirrels was in the other. His face was turned upwards in a mocking and mischievous grin. Once he reached the circle he handed the squirrels to Sam and leaned back against the closest rock. He looked at the now seething dwarf with questioning eyes.

"Please correct me if I am wrong."

The hobbits giggled and the two men watched in amusement as they looked to the dwarf for a response. Gimli was now quite red in the face and was gripping his battle axe tightly. His knuckles were white with rage and he was grinding his teeth together loudly. The dwarf stomped over to the lithe figure and jabbed a stubby finger into the elf's chest. He spoke loudly and harshly as he yelled at the elf.

"Do not speak to me about women elf! Besides what would an emotionless slab of meat like you know about love?!"

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	2. Chapter 2

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"Slab of meat huh…check yourself out once in a while dwarf."

The hobbits giggled as Legolas returned the insult with a critical observation of the dwarf's body. Even the two men had to stifle several chuckles.

However, Gimli wasn't on the same boat. His face had scrunched up into a tight knot and his cheeks were positively flaming. His explosive anger was slowly approaching its breaking point. His hands were now balled into impossibly tight fists and he was literally shaking with rage. He was mumbling darkly under his breath as he stared down the lax elf.

"Why you little…"

Legolas merely raised an eyebrow and feigned innocence.

"What? A mere elf too much for you Gimli?"

This tipped the dwarf over the edge. He puffed himself up to his full height, which unfortunately wasn't much, and shouted at the elf.

"You arrogant, spoiled, precocious princeling! How dare you…You are a…a…You are insufferable is what you are! I could send you to your grave with a flick of my wrist!"

Legolas' eyes flashed as he leaned forward, his face inches from that of the seething dwarf. His voice was icy and laced a challenge.

"I would love to see you try…"

Gimli growled, but before he could do anything Legolas slipped around him and placed himself next to the ranger. He gently tucked several golden strands of hair that had fallen loose behind his pointed ears before staring back at the dwarf.

"You asked me what I knew about love."

The dwarf grumbled lowly and walked back over to the rest of the fellowship. He chose a seat as far away from the elf as possible and crossed his arms across his chest as he waited.

Seeing as the dwarf wasn't going to respond, Pippin decided to take his chances and answer for him.

"Yes we all would. We have heard from almost everyone else except for you."

Legolas turned to the hobbit and the contempt that once was on his face faded quickly into a smile and his normal mischievous happiness.

"Well my dear friends, I know quite a lot of love. You must remember that I have been on this earth for much longer than any of you, well except for maybe you Mithrandir."

Legolas paused and gestured towards the wizard. Gandalf smiled and nodded.

"Aye Legolas. I remember visiting Mirkwood when you were a mere elfling. You burst into your father's throne room in the middle of a council meeting. You then proceeded to run to your father and insist that he let you sit with him. After a while he caved and you contented yourself with bouncing on his lap for the rest of the meeting. Immediately afterwards however, you dragged your poor father through the entire palace and didn't stop until you reach the gardens. I found your father three hours later, covered in dirt, carrying an exhausted child in his arms. You caused your father much stress during your childhood."

The fellowship chuckled as the elf blushed at the memory. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and shot a quick glance at the dwarf. Legolas straightened his posture ever so slightly when he saw the smug look upon the dwarf's face. After the fellowship had settled down Legolas began his original speech again.

"As I was saying, love is not a foreign subject for me dwarf. I may not have had scores of lovers like the rest of you but I do have an elleth that has captured my heart waiting for me to return to Mirkwood."

Legolas closed his eyes briefly and smiled. He inhaled deeply before continuing.

"I met her when I was quite young. She was the daughter of my father's most trusted advisor. We would often play with each other when we were children. We were always available at the same times because whenever my father was busy, hers would be too. We would spend hours together and then as we got older, I had more responsibilities as the prince and I wasn't able to see her as often. We spent more and more time apart until finally we didn't get to see each other at all. I became the captain of my father's guard and spent most of time patrolling the forest while she spent time in the palace with her father. Then one day my patrol ran into a particularly disastrous pack of orcs and one of our soldiers was lost."

Legolas paused to bow his head and place his hand over his heart.

"Hiro îth ab 'wanath." (May you find peace in death.)

He dropped his hand from his chest and raised his head slowly. He took a deep breath before he continued on.

"Several days later my father informed me that I would be receiving a replacement for the lost. I was unsure at first but I knew that I had to give the new soldier a chance. I was out with my battalion in the archery range when a familiar voice caught my attention. I turned to find the fair face of elleth that I didn't quite recognize. It wasn't until se cuffed me on the shoulder that I realized it was my long lost friend, Itarildë. She quickly became my most skilled soldier and she saved my life many times. Gradually our friendship turned into something more. We grew closer and closer until we finally realized that the feeling between us was love. However, we despaired because we knew that it could never be."

Legolas paused and exhaled sharply. It took him a moment but he regained his calm and continued.

"Because I was of royal blood it is common for the next queen to be chosen by the current king. My father was betrothed to my mother by his father but he got lucky. He had already fallen in love with my mother and had no problem with the union. Now Itarildë and I weren't that fortunate, and because of this we had to keep our love a secret, only the other members of our battalion knew. However, elves only have one mate in their lives, and once they find them they cannot be betrothed to another or they will die from a broken heart. This became an issue when the time came for me to marry. I still hadn't told my father and I wasn't going to. I didn't have much choice though when my body began betraying me. I grew weak and sickly. I tried to hide it from my father but I was unable when I collapsed during a dinner with important missionaries. It was the next day that I found out that Itarildë was in a similar state. My father easily pieced things together. I remember my father coming to me the next day and scolding me for not telling him. I was terrified that he was going to forbid me from seeing Itarildë, but instead he told me that we were to be wed in three months. It was a hard sell among traditional elders, but my father wouldn't have it any other way. Itarildë and I were wed and she became the crowned princess of Mirkwood. "

Legolas reached out his right hand and showed the fellowship the intricate ring around his finger. It was several tree branches wound together before meeting in the center and curling around a small green gem. All of the fellowship admired it, and the dwarf tried to ignore it but found it hard when he realized what the ring was made of. He dropped his jaw and mumbled quietly.

"That's made from pure Mithril."

Despite his whispered tone Legolas had heard the dwarf and nodded in response. He pulled back from the group and subconsciously fingered the ring as he continued.

"We were bound to each other several days later."

Legolas paused again as Pippin opened his mouth to speak.

"What do you mean by bound to each other?"

Legolas blushed and Aragorn choked slightly on his own saliva. Pippin looked innocently between the two as Legolas looked the ranger for help but only received a shake of the man's head. Legolas sighed and rubbed at his temples gently.

"Well you know how I said elves have one mate for the duration of their lives? Well after two elves are married they bind themselves to each other and once they do this they belong to that elf and no other. It is a very um…intimate time for a couple."

Legolas paused as he watched Pippin work through what he had explained. Suddenly the hobbit blushed and looked sheepishly at the prince.

"Oh. Sorry about that…"

Legolas rubbed the back of his head and smiled gently.

"It is alright my friend. However I must say I am an exception to this rule, I found love with another…"

Legolas stopped as he saw the confused and slightly disapproving stares of the fellowship. He chuckled and held his hands up in defense.

"No you miss understand my friends. I found love for another when my daughter was born."

The fellowship relaxed slightly and nodded. Although some looked surprised when they realized what Legolas had actually just said. The elf laughed and nodded.

"Yes I have a daughter. She is still reasonably young, merely 400 years of age. She resides in Mirkwood with her mother as we speak. We named her Eruanna, Eru's gift, for she has been the greatest treasure I have ever been given. Mere days before I left for Rivendell I was able to start her archery lessons. She wants to become part of my guard once she is old enough. She desperately wants to fight alongside her mother and father. However, she already looks so much like her mother I don't know if I would be able to tell them apart."

The fellowship laughed as the elf put his head in his hands. His shoulders shook with laughter as he relived memories of his family. He raised his head as the chuckling quieted. Suddenly the elf became serious and looked down at the ring on his finger.

"They are my reason for fighting. My father, Itarildë, and Eruanna are the only family I have. If something were to happen to them when I could have stopped it, I would rather die a thousand times than see that happen."

All nodded their heads in accord, even Gimli mumbled several words of agreement. Legolas smiled and leaned back on his perch and looked up to the sky. Then he did something unexpected. He turned to the fellowship with questioning eyes.

"In fact, if we survive this war, I would be honored if you all would return to Mirkwood with me and meet my people and family."

The hobbits stared with wide eyes and nodded energetically. Boromir and Gandalf smiled and nodded in response. Aragorn wrapped an arm around the elf's shoulder and grinned.

"Of course Legolas, besides I haven't seen Itarildë and Eruanna for far too long."

Legolas nodded and sighed in slight exasperation.

"Oh yes, Eruanna didn't stop talking about the 'adventure' Aragorn took her on for weeks. How did you even manage to get that muddy in the middle of the dry season?"

Aragorn simply shrugged and grinned. Legolas was about to continue when a quiet hum from the other side of the group caught his attention. Gimli was sitting awkwardly and Legolas immediately knew why. He sighed and thought for a moment.

"You have to understand that you wouldn't be welcomed warmly by most of my people Gimli. However, I did extend the invitation to the entire fellowship so if you behave…"

Legolas added the last bit with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He mumbled something along the lines of 'I'll have to think about it' and turned away from the elf. However, as much as he tried to hide it, all of the fellowship could see the smile stretched across his lips.

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**The end! I hope you enjoyed it. **

**Alright so I might actually do a story about the fellowship returning to Mirkwood and meeting Legolas' family, I haven't decided yet. What do you think ?**

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